Non-Ford Clutch Questions

[Citroënbender]

One of my FWD cars, clutch is being replaced. Not a high HP monster. Tried asking on a specific forum for the brand, no bites.

I’m concerned that clamping force was a bit low as the disc is not worn to the rivets, yet clearly has been slipping.

The clutch housing sits on a stepped down area of the flywheel, it’s been replaced before. I’m wondering if last clutch job, they only machined the running surface and didn’t re-cut the step. This would reduce clamping force.

It’s a push clutch with concentric slave.

If the step was too small, the diaphragm fingers would push out more, I wondered if this explained the heavy wear to their tips and the very “dry” feeling release bearing from constant contact under light load.

From just the practical POV - ignoring brands, only looking at the symptoms as shown/described - what are peoples’ thoughts? This is the only hurdle to clear before I reattach the gearbox.

[Citroënbender]

I’m surprised at the dearth of comments.

This clutch slipped so badly that it was impractical to drive any longer and could not maintain speed on moderate inclines. I’ve driven plenty of cars with clutches on the rivets that gripped more.

There was no contamination of the friction material.

Failing skilled input here, is there any particular clutch business in NSW who might be willing to provide an opinion? Not averse to paying for expert advice, if it really is that.

[foxtrot3]

Hi. Would almost be worth bolting the old clutch to the flywheel and measuring the finger height from the back of the block and then measuring the face of the throughout bearing to the face of the bell housing and see if it had any clearance available. Could also check to see if the fingers drop as you tighten the pressure plate down. Cheers MD

[smoo]

Possibility the master or slave cylinder aren’t releasing pressure, still loading up the release bearing?
Although if this were to happen I guess the pedal would or should have a lot of freeplay.

[Fatbob103]

Western Clutch Service at St Mary's will have your answers.

[Citroënbender]

It shifted OK, clutch was always a lot “softer” in operational feel than my little Pug but I put that down to concentric slave vs cable.

Good idea to remount and measure up.

I’m confident Unique Performance would have perfectly duplicated the flywheel step as they found, but if it were wrong to start with… St Mary’s; good suggestion. They’re the usual go-to recommendation from a head service I trust (Rams).

[Citroënbender]

The solutions were found by Western’s, who had an industry spec book.

Step on the flywheel was one thou shy, so good enough. Pressure plate (new) was tested at assembled height, it’s considered wholly suitable for a non-force fed FWD 2.0 daily.

Price for this peace of mind, was a box of JB&C. Thank you for the recommendation.